Yompai musings

Can a wooden spoon stop your pot from boiling over?

Clips of people laying a wooden spoon over the top of a boiling pot and watching the pasta subside are easily found on tik tok and youtube

According to Dr. Michelle Dickinson, author of The Kitchen Science Cookbook, the bubbles in a pot of boiling pasta are made of water, air, and starch molecules. The starch and water form a “sandwich layer,” which creates a structure that traps the air and steam inside them. As the pot gets hotter, more steam-filled bubbles form underneath the existing ones, eventually leading them to take up more space than the pot can contain. This is when your pot
starts to overflow with starchy pasta water.

Wooden spoons are insulators, which mean they don’t
conduct heat well. So when you place the spoon on top of the pot, it remains cooler than the pot and bubbles. Thanks to the temperature and rough and dry texture, the spoon causes the bubbles to burst. Then, the bursting bubbles
release steam that instantly cools, creating a small, cooling air current. And the water level and bubbles subside.

Watch the clip and see what happens

According to some people this works every time, others say it does not

Have you tried it, is it something that works for you?

Why Wooden Platters?

Like most things there are advantages and disadvantages. Using wooden platters is the same. Depending on what you need one for or where you want to use it, wooden platters may not be for you.

But there are many advantages to using wooden platters

Why use Toast Tongs?

The primary reason is for safety. Metal tongs are like metal knives in your toaster, dangerous. Wooden Toast Tongs, if dry, are not good conductors of electricity and are safe to use to extract your piece of toast or bagel that has gotten bent out of shape in the toaster. 

When choosing a wooden bowl for your NZ home, it is important to consider the type of woodgrain, colour and durability. Do they match your home and decor.

We have been out of salt where I live for a couple of weeks, no idea why. Finally back in stores Monday this week.

We use salt and spices for all kinds of things, personally I don't eat much but I do use it daily as a mouth wash for my gums on the advice of my dental hygienist.

Our handcrafted salt and spice spoons are a great way to add or serve salts and spices. Completely plastic free!

There are two types of lime used in Thai cooking. There are the regular limes that are common here in NZ, known as "manao" in Thai.

These are used to add sourness to a Thai dish, especially in dishes like Somtam (Papaya Salad).

There are lots of things that go into making Thai food taste so good, from regional dishes to the combination of tastes each meal bring. But there are some common elements to Thai food